The hardest penance I ever received was related to forgiveness. I, too, had been wounded, and was having such a hard time forgiving that it was destroying me. The priest assigned me to pray a Divine Mercy Chaplet, but there was a catch. On each of the beads where a person would ordinarily pray “For the sake of His sorrowful passion, have mercy on us and o the whole world”, I was to say “have mercy on (insert the name of one person who had wounded me) and (insert my own name) and on the whole world.” This was one of the hardest, most humbling experiences of my life. Naming both myself and my wounder on the same bead served a two-fold purpose: first, it put us on the same level as God’s children… Second, it made me ask for mercy on those individuals in the same proportion as I was asking for it for myself. While it was one of the most difficult experiences of my life, it was also one of the most liberating. I still do it occasionally to keep myself in line. Best wishes. And you can be sure I’ll be praying for you…

Our Father
Who art in heaven
Hallowed be Thy name.
Thy kingdom come,
Thy will be done,
On Earth as it is in Heaven.
Give us this day,
Our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
As we forgive thows who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
But deliver us from evil.
Amen.